<?
$this->headTitle('How To IRC');
$this->headMeta('howto, how-to, irc', 'Keywords');
?>
<div>
    <h1>First time IRC user?</h1>
    <p>
        We are now in a technological era, so there is no doubt that you are familar
        with MSN, Yahoo Instant Messenger, AIM, or Google Chat. If your new to the
        scene, you probably did not know, Internet Relay Chat (IRC) is probably
        older than any of those listed above. The main difference between IRC and IM
        services is that IRC is designed for multi-user chat rather than one-on-one
        conversations, and that there are many IRC networks that users can participate
        on -- whereas most IM services restrict you to the network operated by the
        IM service owner, such as AOL or Microsoft. Because IRC is designed for multi-user
        chats, it's ideal for FOSS communities that want to offer a forum where users
        can get support in real time.
     </p>

    <div>
        <h2>Where is #ZFTalk?</h2>
        <p>
            IRC's most popular Zend Framework Talk (<a href="irc://irc.freenode.net/zftalk">#ZFTalk</a>)
            channel is happily located at <a href="http://www.freenode.net">Freenode.net</a>
            under the channel <a href="irc://irc.freenode.net/zftalk">#zftalk</a>.
        </p>

        <ul>
            <li>
                Don't have an IRC client? Use the web client provided by <a href="http://www.mibbit.com">Mibbit</a>
                here on our site: <a href="<?= $this->url(array('controller' => 'client')); ?>">#zftalk</a>
            </li>
            <li>
                Have an IRC client already?
                Open the your IRC client to: <a href="irc://irc.freenode.net/zftalk">irc://irc.freenode.net/zftalk</a>
            </li>
        </ul>
    </div>

    <div>
        <h2>IRC etiquette</h2>

        <p>
            IRC is a world of its own hidden away, yet it is a great place where everyone can come together.
            Being a different world, it has its own set of etiquette with some definite do's and dont's.
            In order to keep the harmony, we ask that everyone follow these guidelines and remember,
            being nice goes a long way.
        </p>

        <ul>
            <li>As with any chat room, please be patient and avoid any harsh remarks.</li>
            <li>When asking a question, try not to ask to ask the question, rather just put it out there and if people are around with an answer, they will answer.</li>
            <li>While the chat room will have users at almost any point in time, depending on our timezone many of us may be asleep.</li>
            <li>Don't take people too seriously, this is IRC we work hard, but we also play hard!</li>
            <li>Do not paste anything more than 4 lines as it will be considered spam, use a pasting service such as <a href="http://www.paste2.org">Paste2.org</a></li>
            <li>We are an international community, try to speak English if possible.</li>
            <li>Great article: <a href="http://seerofsouls.com/wiki/SeerOfSouls/IrcEtiquette?action=browse">Proper IRC Etiquette</a></li>
        </ul>
    </div>

    <div>
        <h2>Clients</h2>
        <p>
            Here are some clients that we would recommend to be used if you decide
            that #zftalk is a community that you would like to participate in and
            the web client isn't for you.
        </p>

        <div>
            <h3>Windows</h3>
            <ul>
                <li><a href="http://www.mirc.com">mIRC</a></li>
            </ul>
        </div>

        <div>
            <h3>Linux</h3>
            <ul>
                <li><a href="http://www.xchat.org">XChat</a></li>
                <li><a href="http://www.pidgin.im/">Pidgin</a></li>
            </ul>
        </div>

        <div>
            <h3>Mac</h3>
            <ul>
                <li><a href="http://colloquy.info/">Colloquy</a></li>
            </ul>
        </div>
    </div>
</div>